Would this property be a good buy or a legal nightmare?

[Elakiya]

I found this property on Zoopla:

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/58997653?utm_source=v1:5bWFDybfWx7C7AGpeagt7mP3PgcqjuqJ&utm_medium=api

To summarise what is said in the zoopla description:

• You can’t get an internal viewing of the property (The auctioneers and the sellers solicitors have not had an internal viewing of the property either)
• There are people living in the property. They say they have paid the owner but there was no contract and the solicitors don’t know how much was paid.
• There was a fire in the property which has left the garage severely damaged.

Would this be a legal nightmare?

Post edited by MNHQ at OP's request

The more I read the more interesting this story gets!
If Dr Drummond-Rees was born in 1932 she would be nearly 90 now, so not perhaps surprising that its gone to Court of Protection.
I hope she's being looked after- she must have been quite a trailblazer in the 1950s.

And another one
www.vebra.com/details/property/30756971

This forum is an interesting read
www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/mountfield-house-devon-july-2017.109377/

The more and more I look into this, it makes me really sad 😔

Mountfield House is derelict, that appears to have been her own residential property.

That one was sold a couple of years ago, to members of the family which owned it in the 50s. Hopefully they can restore it.

Well, at least we all now know what to say when we take up squatting!: "Yes, we used to pay rent in cash to the property owner based on whatever we could afford to pay. We don't have a written tenancy agreement but there is a verbal agreement with the landlady".

I think the fact that all three tenants are saying the same thing makes it likely that it is true, however inconvenient that is for the new owners.

What an intriguing story. I hope the lady is being well cared for, how very sad.

@Ellmau I think there might be some truth in it, but the fact that one tenant is saying I paid £1500 last month is a bit suspicious.

I can’t remember where I saw this but I read she had abandoned Mountfield house and was thought to be living in Wembley. That then makes it easier to collect rent in cash I guess?

In the Oakington one the deputy has rewired the property making it easier to live in.

I am going to see if I can watch the live auction, not that it will answer any questions but I am very intrigued now.

I am Another one who just wants to see the live auction!

oops, is it possible to just observe the auction -- how does one do that? I can't see a simple link to auction.

One approach often taken to squatters is having a security firm visit with guard dogs and inform them that from that weekend, dogs would be on the premises to guard it. That tends to move squatters quite quickly.
This approach is also used to end raves in disused buildings.
I'm not saying it's right but the courts are very slow indeed to deal with such matters and the local councils are hopeless.

@lljkk I have no idea. If I work it out I will post it here.

I would love to meet this lady. Would love to piece together this story and also learn a bit more about her life, her career, her family etc.

That’s never going to happen though 😅.

Well the auction has been, it’s sstc in rightmove! Anyone know if there’s a way of finding out what it sold for? So curious!

@Vanillaaddict, a few months after the sale completes you can search for the sold price on Rightmove.

Ooh thanks @NoWordForFluffy I’ll have to wait a bit longer to satisfy my curiosity here then!

A professional with deep pockets will absolutely buy this place and get the tenants out. The plot alone is probably worth more than the price on that.

A private buyer would be nuts to tangle with it.

There will be plenty of people that will be prepare to buy this house and evict the tenant via any means necessary. Including forcing entry and kicking them out, physically.
For the law abiding it's a no. But if you are quite happy to meet refusal with unlawful force then it's probably a good buy.

@Indigopearl "It sounds tricky as usually the vendor would need to provide evidence of the circumstances under which the occupiers took up residence in order to evict."

Lol..this will be bought for cash and the purchaser won't be someone who will bother with legal niceties....the occupants will soon be aware as to what is in their own interests and staying put won't be one of them!!

Just saw this thread had been bumped up, agree it'll be interesting to see how much it went for. Looks like the other properties are SSTC as well... maybe a single investor bought them all?

So the owner has dementia, the occupant never had a contract ( makes it much harder to evict them, probably they will need bribing to move out). The internal condition could be awful. They are clearly refusing entry to estate agents, solicitors etc so are liable to “ know their rights”. Not for the feint hearted and it will probably sell to a professional landlord or builder.